Campbell MacCallum’s rise as a celebrity lawyer on the Gold Coast
He’s a prominent Gold Coast lawyer with a long history of star clients, but Campbell MacCallum has made plenty of headlines himself over the years. HIS RISE TO FAME
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Welcome to the wild world of Campbell MacCallum.
The prominent Gold Coast lawyer has a long history of making headlines, both from his A-list clients and his own sordid history in the courtroom.
This is the tale of the 48-year-old’s highs and lows, including the shock decision in December 2022 to drop a “baseless” money laundering charge brought against him by the corruption watchdog.
However Mr MacCallum was convicted for the drug possession offence in May 18 and sentenced to three months imprisonment with the term wholly suspended for an operational period of 12 months.
For the remaining four drug offence charges he was handed a $2500 fine and not further convicted.
MACCALLUM’S BACKGROUND
MacCallum’s schooling experience is a story in itself.
He was a boarder at Wallaby-producing Nudgee College in Brisbane.
However, he repeated Year 12 – this time at Marymount College on the Gold Coast “because I played rugby the whole time at Nudgee and didn’t study so my mum pulled me out”.
Schooling finally complete, his first job after earning a law degree with honours was as a judge’s associate for two years before a stint in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
This was followed by a post with Ryan & Bosscher as a defence lawyer in Ipswich in 2003.
That’s where he met Andrew Moloney, who invited him to join him at their own firm.
In 2015 MacCallum recalled his early experiences in the courtroom.
“I do cringe at some of the stupid questions I asked or some of the aggressive tactics I used which simply weren’t necessary … calling witnesses liars when I simply had nothing to substantiate that, suggesting they were doing criminal activity themselves when I had nothing to substantiate it. I was given a number of warnings early on in my career,” he said.
All the while, MacCallum competed as a champion amateur bodybuilder.
In 2016 he opened up on his own mental health battles as he took part in a charity boxing match.
In 2021 Moloney MacCallum Abdelshahied Lawyers officially changed its name to Moloney MacCallum Lawyers.
PUBLIC PROFILE
There has been no shortage of high-profile cases.
Think bikies, footballers and social media stars.
Then there is MacCallum’s public image – tattoos and muscles – which only added to the reputation.
“I’ve become close friends in the past with blokes with who — apart from their offending — would otherwise be very similar to what I am,” he suggested in 2015.
“ … I’m not sure if I’m the go-to man (but) I do have a lot of bikies, a lot of footballers and a lot of drug matters.”
In 2015 the Gold Coast Bulletin highlighted even MacCallum’s personal Facebook page showed a profile photo of him necking a large bottle of Corona with a banner picture of him in a tight T-shirt exposing his tattoos and giving the fingers.
“I’m a bit less controlled when expressing myself socially. That’s a large Corona too, a one litre one in Hawaii,” he said at the time.
“I was having a competition with a big Hawaiian bloke to see who could drink a Corona quicker. I marginally lost but I got it all down in one go so proud of that.”
CRIMINAL ALLEGATIONS
In December 2022 MacCallum had a major victory in court after a “baseless” criminal charge brought against him by the corruption watchdog was dropped.
In Brisbane Magistrates Court Magistrate Anthony Gett formally dismissed the money laundering charge which was alleged to have been committed on September 29, 2016.
MacCallum still faces an uphill battle with the future of seven drug-related charges still before the courts.
Defence barrister Patrick McCafferty KC welcomed the decision by the Director of Public Prosecutions to drop the money laundering charge against his client.
“On the most basic analysis of the facts it would have been obvious these charges against Mr MacCallum were baseless and should never have been brought,” Mr McCafferty said during a mention of the matter in Brisbane Magistrates Court.
MacCallum is still facing seven charges including five counts of possessing dangerous drugs and two of supplying dangerous drugs.
MACCALLUM’S FAMOUS CLIENTS
Lionel Patea
Double murderer Lionel Patea was represented by MacCallum for both his cases – the brutal bashing murder of Tara Brown and beating of Gold Coast pool builder Greg Dufty to death.
Mr MacCallum also represented Lionel’s younger brother Nelson who pleaded guilty to manslaughter for his part in the death of Mr Dufty.
Barbaro family
MacCallum has long been the lawyer of choice for the Gold Coast members of the notorious Barbaro family.
He took on the controversial anti-consorting laws when representing the youngest, Harley Barbaro.
Azzra Hughes
Instagram model and former Playboy Plus model Azzra Hughes turned to MacCallum when she was repeatedly caught in possession of drugs.
In January 2020 she copped a $1000 fine and a two-month driving ban over a string of drug and traffic offences.
Hughes also proclaimed she wanted to become Prime Minister.
Former Gold Coast Titans players
Greg Bird, Dave Taylor, Kalifa Faifai Loa, Jamie Dowling, Ashley Harrison and Joe Vickery were all represented by MacCallum when they were caught up in an alleged cocaine syndicate in 2015.
The drug charges were ultimately dropped due to a lack of evidence.
Steve Edward Smith
MacCallum represented the former Black Uhlans bikie after he was charged with the stabbing of Gold Coast millionaire Paul Picone.
In June 2020 he was sentenced to four years prison for the grievous bodily harm.
Brett Pechey
The former bikie, nicknamed Kaos, made headlines for an ongoing Instagram feud with rival bikie Ben “Notorious” Geppert.
When Peachey found trouble in the past he turned to MacCallum to defend him.
Javon Johanson
MacCallum represented the woman who famously streaked at the Gold Coast Titans NRL match in 2022.
Johanson was crash-tackled by a security guard and was later trolled over the incident, which was captured on video.
Johanson wrote letters of apology to the Titans, Eels and the NRL and managed to avoid a fine of more than $5000 that usually confronts ground invaders. She was instead issued with a three-month good behaviour bond by Southport Magistrate Janice Crawford.
Anthony Watts
The one-time NRL player turned bikie associate has a long association with MacCallum.
Watts, who famously was banned from the Gold Coast rugby league competition in 2013 for biting a rival’s penis, has fronted court on assault charges, which he planned to defend.
Garry Turner
The Gold Coast Instagram influencer was in March 2021 sentenced to two years prison with immediate parole for drug offences.
Represented by MacCallum, former schoolteacher Garry James Turner pleaded guilty in the Southport Magistrates Court to possessing dangerous drugs and possessing a restricted drug.
The 41-year-old was found with a small amount of drostanolone, a type of steroid, and a gel containing sildenafil, the main ingredient in Viagra, when police searched his Biggera Waters home on November 30, 2019. Convictions were recorded.
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